Reminisce
by Morose Calamity
Summary: They say love conquers all, but just how far can it really go? Sasuke and Sakura must find out on their own...
1. The Meeting

**Chapter One:** _The Meeting_

"Ugh," The blonde haired worker lazily drug her dust covered broom to the dust pan, taking immense care into not missing a single dust bunny. "how many more hours?" She squinted at the methodically ticking clock, but a rosy haired girl that was chewing on her pencil tiredly blocked her view. "Oi, Sakura!" At the brief glance of irritation from her companion, Ino went on, "What time is it?"

With a sigh of annoyance to the besetting worker, the irate worker glanced briefly at the wooden clock. "It's only 5:30, now get back to work!" She muttered angrily and spun the pencil between her fingers out of pure habit. As Ino scuffled away and proclaimed her supposed indifference to the girl's remarks, Sakura rubbed her eyes tiredly and tried to focus on the math paper resting peacefully on the oak wooden table. The numbers blurred and the girl only ended up getting a headache. Her mouth tightened in annoyance at being disturbed as another client walked in, but the employee plastered a skillful smile on her face. "Hello, welcome to the Haruno flower shop. I am Sakura; how may I help you?" The phrase mechanically replayed in her mind again as the dark haired boy just stood there and looked at her. "Um, sir?" Her rose colored eyebrow twitched uncomfortably at his never ending silence. She sighed and ran a hand through her messy hair which was piled into an unkempt ponytail. The ponytail swayed softly as Sakura gave the boy a pointedly annoyed look.

"I want roses." He finally said in a monotone.

"Alright," The trained worker mentally went through all the colors, "what color would you like, sir?"

He didn't answer her but walked over to the cooler that was in plain view. Silently, the dark haired boy pointed towards yellow colored roses. "Right…" She trailed uncertainly at his behavior. "Would you like the cash and carry deal, or in a vase?"

His dark eyes finally looked over to her. "In a vase."

"Okay," The girl said slowly and raised an eyebrow, "in a vase it is then. Please come over to the counter and I will have the florist make it up for you right away." She gave a pseudo grin at his placid stare and quickly walked towards the counter. "Lina," Sakura whispered to the gray haired woman, "this costumer wants twelve dozen yellow roses in a vase, you think you could do that really quick?"

Lina grinned and nodded, "You underestimate my skills, dear."

She rolled her eyes and smiled, "Of course, now go get it ready!" The silent guy was standing at the counter when she turned around, his chin in his hand and looking at the cards to his right intently. "Right. Sir," Sakura got his attention and smiled her infamous work grin. His bored charcoal eyes turned back towards her. "this will be 90 yen, please." She said in what was her opinion of a pleasant tone.

Lina came back with the greenery and roses just as the operative was giving him his change. "Thank you very much, we appreciate your business." She said with a pseudo sweet smile.

He didn't reply but instead turned his stare from the returned change to Sakura, and it didn't seem as if his eyes were going to budge. She fidgeted uncomfortably on the black chair as Lina just hummed along to a tune only known to her. The uncomfortable girl squirmed again in her seat and wondered if Lina bought these seats on purpose to make her employees uncomfortable when sitting. With his gaze still on the rosy haired girl, Sakura fixed her eyes on the white walls and sniffed quite loudly, trying to get him to advert the black eyes from her form. Her teeth came down upon my bottom lip, more as a gesture of annoyance than as a gesture of nervousness, as she squirmed again. The worker flicked her gaze towards him, but he was still in the same position as she last saw him. Sakura's temper flared in annoyance. "Look buddy, if you're going to just stare at me, then at least make it less noticeable!" She yelled at his calm face. A beat of silence followed as an audible gasp came from her grandmother.

Lina dropped the knife she had been holding to cut the flowers. "Sakura Hanuro, that was unacceptable! To think, my own niece assaulting my costumers! Gomen, Sakura did not know what she was thinking!" The old woman turned back towards Sakura, her arthritis weary wrist pointing directly towards the rosy haired girl. "Apologize at once." The worker glared at the ground instead of her boss while muttering an apology that was barely heard. "Say it again." Lina demanded, and she raised her pink tresses defiantly towards her aging grandmother.

Her jade eyes flicked to the stony ebony gaze that had caused her to lose her short fused temper. "Gomen, your majesty." Sakura bit out clearly, anger flashing in her green eyes towards the blank stare. Sakura's hand twitched uncomfortably under his gaze, only making her temper get to the boiling point, but that wasn't quite the feat to do anyways. "If you will excuse me…" She said with venom and got off the black wooden chair to go head to do something more productive than have a staring contest with a costumer.

"My name's Uchiha Sasuke." His voice made the agitated girl turn back around to him with wide eyes. The dissolved Uchiha clan was well known over the town; maids giggled about the new proclaimed single brothers, Itachi and Sasuke, the only known living Uchiha members left, while men whispered angrily as the two brothers passed, jealous of their wealth and fame.

"Mr. Uchiha," Lina panicked, ready to get down on her hands and knees, it seemed; "I will fire Sakura, but please don't take my flower shop away from me!" Her voice was urgent and hurried, her hands clasped together in worry as she looked to the young man before her. The old beat up shop was crumbling from years of work being done inside its walls, anyways, but this shop had been a family heirloom to the Haruno family, and Lina still had yet to pass it on to her granddaughter. She didn't even know if Sakura would want the beaten up old building that stood out like a sore thumb in the middle of a modern, busy street. Which brought up the question that puzzled the old woman greatly: why would Sasuke come to a place like this, when he could go to a much higher ranking florist in town?

Whipping towards her grandmother now, Sakura stared at the wrinkled face of Lina with her mouth agape. She managed to stutter a few words of her inconceivable betrayal from her only family member left. "Don't fire her." Sasuke drawled out with a bored tone. "I would like my roses now." He motioned to the finished vase sitting on Lina's work table, and the girl nodded ardently, a signal she no longer wanted to be in the presence of the boy. Sasuke seemed to react to the girl's furious nods as he now corrected his stare towards the flushed employee.

"Um…" Sakura said impatiently and met the dark coals. "You were leaving…?"

"You know what? I think I might stay now." His face was blank, his tone matching harmoniously with the placid look of indifference etched in between his skin. Couldn't the man just let some kind of emotion show? Even pure hatred would be better than the annoyingly calm look he seemed to have mastered.

The rosy haired girl let out a huff of frustration and pointed an accusing finger at the renowned business man, not particularly paying attention to the death glares currently coming from the owner of Haruno Flowers, and growled, "You listen to me, because I'm only going to say it once." She paused to let the words sink in, and if she had squinted, the girl would have seen a smile tugging on the boy's lips. "You're going to leave this little shop to never return again and go blissfully on your way willingly," Summoning up her courage, Sakura walked up to Sasuke and poked him in the shoulder in what was supposed to be an intimidating gesture. The latter's lips scowled at her sheer boldness but kept silent as the girl motioned a shooing gesture with her hands. Upon seeing him immovable, Sakura gave an exasperated growl. "Or I will make you!" She finished in a flurry of hand motions.

"Young woman, that is certainly enough." Said Lina in a calm voice. Her tongue and chin froze from just her grandmother's voice as Sakura stopped in a sentence that was going to tell Sasuke off again. Her granddaughter grumbled something along the lines of life is so unfair and that she should get more privileges than a mere customer; after all, she was blood related to the flower shop owner. "Thank you for your business, sir." The woman said tightly to the black haired boy, and with a nod, he was already out of the door with the dangling of chimes from the door the only evidence he had been there at all. Well, that, and the fact that Sakura was now in a dangerous and fowl mood for the rest of her workday, making the once haven become a nightmare for the aging woman who only sighed at the outbursts the young girl would have about the rich bachelor named Sasuke.

"Sakura-chan!" The blonde owner of the short tempered girl's favorite restaurant called out to one of his perennial customers excitedly. He waved her over before making all his employees that had been staring at the newcomer with interest get back to work with a wave of his hand. "Welcome, my dear Sakura-chan," Naruto mocked a gallant bow, "to the infamous, wonderful Ramen Haven!" His long time friend cracked a lopsided grin at the amusing antics.

"Ramen Haven, eh?" She said good naturedly, continuing with their usual routine; "Interesting name, Naruto." Sakura stopped midway into giving her blonde haired friend a hug when she spotted someone in her usual seat just chewing down on their ramen. She managed to give Naruto a death grip hug. "Who's that in my seat?" The girl hissed in her friend's ear.

"Your…" Before he could think of what to do next, Naruto was rapidly spun around so that he could look at her regular seat in the back corner of the shop, "seat?" He finished weakly and slowly stepped away with a grin on his face. "That's my old buddy, Sasuke, who just came down into this part of town for a visit." His blue eyes were alight with excitement as he pulled her towards the raven haired boy. "Come on! Come on! Come visit with him!"

Sakura hit, bit, and even sank her nails into Naruto's skin to save herself from the demon known as Sasuke's wrath, but alas, she was roughly pushed down into her seat, only to start to rise, but then be pushed back down. The florist worker had an unhappy pout on her face as she turned towards the calmly eating boy in front of her; he was still in her acclaimed seat. All the stubborn girl did was give into the somewhat uneasy silence on her part, but a fairly calm silence on his part. Sakura cleared her throat noisily as she turned to look towards the multiple pictures framed and set on the walls. An elated grin wound its threads through the corners of her mouth and lifted up as she recounted the photos with herself and Naruto in them. "Hey, Naruto!" She called out to the now cooking boy. "You still have this picture?" The other customers looked at her, annoyed, but she paid them no heed as another grin tugged itself onto her face. Naruto stuck his head out of the kitchen's door to squint at the unfamiliar picture, but then his memory clicked and a sheepish grin floated onto his face.

The manager nodded quickly at her as one of his workers grabbed him back into the kitchen with a panic. "How annoying." Sasuke said clearly, his black gaze now fixated upon her emerald one. "You're becoming to be increasingly annoying." He said again before paying for the meal and walking into the kitchen. Sakura burned an agitated stare at the swinging door before deciding to follow the silent boy. Without thinking twice about it, she quickly grabbed the empty ramen bowl to be cleaned for the next lucky user it happened upon. Jade eyes looked at the wooden bowl in disgust in thinking that she would have to eat out of it next. _Cooties_. She glumly thought in all seriousness. And he had sat in her chair! Sakura made a mental note to pick up some desensitizing wipe cloths on her way out of the kitchen.

The rosy haired girl entered the kitchen with an excited air about her. She had never been in the kitchen, but as she looked around, Sakura found that it was nothing special; it just suited its purpose, and that purpose was to serve food. It wasn't dirty, but it wasn't spectacularly clean; what else could she expect from manager such as Naruto? That boy was a walking pig sty. Seeing a sink full of soapy water, the teen plopped Sasuke's empty ramen bowl into the sink as she continued to the sound of voices talking.

"-take care of my own store," Naruto's slightly annoyed voice came around the corner. She remembered the time when her blonde friend would get that tone to his voice; it was always when he was being beaten by one of his top rivals. The funny thing was, he actually admired his rivals, yet always strived to be better than them. He never gave up.

"Obviously not, otherwise you wouldn't be in debt." Sasuke's gruff reply came back to the owner. The eavesdropper almost jumped at the sound of his cold voice. Naruto's shop was in debt? Her pink eyebrows furrowed in confusion; she had always thought Naruto was better off than her, always making money, because he had shown it with all the Christmas gifts he would shower on his friends. As annoying as he was during the holidays, she could always count on him to get her a gift, even if they were in a tiff.

"I don't need your charity work, Sasuke." Sakura felt like stepping out and making her presence known, but before she could even put that thought into action, the raven haired boy grasped the collar to her shirt and pulled her around the corner. His normally blank eyes had anger flecked in them as he stared her own agitated green eyes down.

A throat cleared, and the angry electricity between the two people evaporated when the furious stares at having to see one another in a place they loved were sent Naruto's way. The wrongly accused boy held up his hands defensively, but winced at both their glares all the same. Sakura sighed and softened her gaze from her friend, but Sasuke never turned his head. "Idiot." He murmured. "You're going to regret this, Naruto." He acidly said, causing an irate look to cross the blonde boy's face, before the Uchiha walked out of the kitchen, his foot steps silent.

* * *

A/N: So, off to a good start? Alright then, please do tell. I have the next few chapters made up already, so I'll probably post in a week or so. . 


	2. Dreams

**Chapter Two**: _Dreams_

Haruno Sakura stuffed her hands deeply into her pockets, the morning air biting at her unprotected ears and nose. It had been two days since the placid boy had somehow wound his way into her mind, and to tell the truth, she was quite annoyed with it. Her thoughts kept reeling from one scenario that she encountered with him to the next, scanning her behavior as if she yearned to be accepted by him and she was just making sure she made a good impression. Sighing angrily at her nonsense, the girl pushed all thoughts of Uchiha Sasuke to the back of her mind as she sat on the old swing and swung lazily back and forth. Her eyes fluttered closed as she picked up momentum, and a grin of relaxation coming onto her features.

"You know, if you keep that stupid grin on your face, you'll have to get plastic surgery to get your cheeks back to normal." Sakura opened her eyes but widened her grin at Ino. "And that's not going to help it either. Better get those plastic cards out ready and handy." The blonde's tone was sardonic, but nevertheless friendly at the same time.

"Nice to see you too, Ino." The pink haired girl's feet made scraping sounds as she slowed herself down. "And trust me, I wouldn't have enough money in my bank account for plastic surgery." She shook her head in mock sadness.

"That's horrible." Ino smirked and came to lean on the swing-set's metal bar. "How have you been, Sakura? Meet anyone that is even remotely interesting?" Her blue eyes lit up, "But wait," She paused for an effect, "there are no single males that are decent enough to come by in this city, is there?" Sakura replied with a negative. "Exactly. And that's why," Ino prompted the other girl to say the next phrase with her; "men are the scum of the Earth as we know it." Her blonde tresses bobbed with her head in a nod.

"Who broke your heart this week?" The swing moved the girl back and forth as the wind picked up, causing Sakura to shiver and cross her arms in an attempt to save heat. The rusted teeter totter squeaked as it moved back and forth, the wind playing its own game with the device. Dead trees and their falling leaves swayed with the wind but then became still as the whistling gust calmed down.

"No one in particular." Muttered Ino bitterly as she leaned up off the pole.

Sakura swing had stopped swinging without the momentum of the wind. "Ino-chan, you can tell me." She said softly before turning her gaze towards the flaxen haired girl.

"If you must know," Ino said idly, tucking a strand of loose hair behind her ear, "his name was Sasuke."

* * *

The bristling rosy haired girl stood impatiently before Naruto's apartment door. Her eyebrow twitched and she audibly swore she would knock down the door if he did not answer in less than ten seconds. The door rapidly opened to a fuming Sakura, who pushed aside a sleepy looking Naruto violently. "I-He-" She cut herself off furiously and ran a hand through her hair, "Sasuke. Number?" Sakura couldn't snarl out any more words as she expected her friend to answer her question with an excellent intuition. "Address?" 

"Hold on." Naruto muttered, fear sprinkled into his words. He disappeared into a shadowed room while she impatiently rocked back and forth on her heels. A disgruntled looking blonde haired boy came back into the room. "I think this is it…" Sakura eagerly snatched up the letter and muttering a curse, realized that his house was in the woods, and the season was December, and…her head quickly popped from the messy handwriting to the window showing cloudy skies. It was probably going to snow in the forest, but Ino's bitter laugh came back to her, and she resumed her earlier determined expression. With a muttered thanks to Naruto, and as the latter said something about going back to bed, Sakura started off on the long road to Sasuke's house.

* * *

He stood leaning against a tree, his hands stuffed deep within the confinements of his pockets. Why did no girl seem enough to the youngest of the Uchiha brothers? That girl…the one with the blonde hair and blue eyes. His onyx eyes squinted in memory as the girl's name seemed forgotten on his lips. Ino. That was it. But the girl with the frustratingly pink hair, the girl that was annoying, Sasuke could tell anyone who wanted to know her name in a heartbeat. Haruno Sakura, the girl that was always there when he didn't want her to be. A scowl slowly wove its threads into the normally placid lips as a car drove at an alarming rate towards his small cottage. He had gotten his own house separately from Itashi; the younger sibling couldn't stand his elder, deciding to get his own place and live on his own as soon as he was legal. As like he had done in all the plans he made, Sasuke followed through with it, having the finished papers actually done a week after his birthday. The car was parked by his meticulously hidden house, and the annoying girl that had somehow plastered her smile into his brain revved the engine before stepping out carefully. 

"You," She pointed an accusing finger much like the one at the flower shop, only this one was followed by a pair of infuriated jade eyes. "How could you do such a thing to Ino?" Sasuke remained with his hands in his pockets, his eyebrow raised in slight alarm. "You bastard!" The girl came closer to him and poked him hard in the forehead. "I can't believe-" She was cut off by a sharp stinging erupting from the tip of her finger where it slowly seeped into every nerve cell in her body. Her ears were ringing and her body seemed to be pulsating to a nonexistent beat. "What-" Sakura whispered weakly as she crashed onto the forest ground limply.

"_Sasuke-kun." She yawned out and stretched her arms. Sakura watched as the only male awake turned towards her, a bored expression on his face. "Where are you going?" Her whisper ricocheted off the walls as she winced, not wanting to wake any one else up. The said male shook his head sadly at the rosy haired female and made his way outside into the dry night air. Trying to keep the growl that wanted to rise up at the back of her throat, the curious girl slipped on her sandals and joined him outside. The stars were hidden behind a cloak of black, making the moon the only source for Sakura's much needed light. "Sasuke?" She whispered into the empty air._

"_Sakura." He murmured her name, making the female start and turn to her right swiftly. Motioning with his hand to follow her, he said, "Come on." A wave of excitement rose up in her that he would even invite her somewhere, but she shook her head defiantly._

"_We need to rest for tomorrow's mission." Sakura put her hands on her hips and put her weight on her right leg. "Go back to sleep, Sasuke-kun." A yawn erupted from her mouth in the middle of her sentence. "This is our last mission before the Jounin exams, but we have to be in top shape." She tried to persuade the placid look on his face and almost threw a tantrum right then and there. "Listen; just go to bed, okay?" She said, moving to go back into the tiny house before a hand shot out and grabbed her wrist._

"_Sakura." Sasuke whispered again, but this time his tone was more urgent. "I can't-" He was obviously having a hard time with saying something as he ran a hurried hand through his already disheveled hair. "I can't sleep." He finally concluded and released her wrist. _

_A worried frown creased her face. "Why not?" She bit her lip and cocked her head to the side. His gaze slowly fixated on nothing but memories still tumbled within them. "Sasuke-kun?" She whispered into the silent breeze. "Is everything alright?" If she pressed down any harder on her bottom lip, it would start to bleed. She gingerly reached out to touch his shoulder, but he winced when she made contact. Quickly, the confused girl pulled her hand back, sighed, and started to wring her hands together, a habit that had started when she was finally trying to get over the male before her._

"_Why are you not at ease?" His cold gaze was back on her as she darted her eyes between the ground and Sasuke's face. "Do I really influence you that much, even after all these years?" Her jaw opened to speak, but clicked shut and remained unopened until the male spoke, "I do; don't I?" She wanted to shake her head no, but instead she just sighed and ran a hand on her face tiredly._

"_Can we not talk about this right now? I'm really tired and we have a big day ahead of us." She murmured softly and shifted her weight. Her jade eyes flicked to Sasuke momentarily, and then flicked to their normal target when he was near, the ground, but this time, surprised and off guard, her gaze flicked back to the empty space where Sasuke had once been. Puzzled, she turned back towards the small house, but no sign of movement was heard from within. With dipped eyebrows, the teen walked quietly back into the small house, coal black eyes following her every move from above on the rooftop of the house._

Her eyes opened wide as she sprang up from the bed, her body shaking and the sheets on the bed clinging to her every limb from sweat. A hand flew to her forehead and she batted it away before it was lazily drawn back in by it's owner. "Gah," She muttered and tried to merge together all the colors her eyes were blasting through her vision. "Ouch." When the colors subsided, Sakura shook her head lightly and looked at the offending hand's owner. "What did you do to me?" She quickly stood up and raised to her full height of 5'7" before getting light headed again. With a groan, the female plopped back down onto the comfortable, warm bed.

"I didn't do anything." Sasuke haughtily replied, leaned against the wooden wall, and crossed his arms. His eyes were closed, and a slight frown creased his forehead, making him look like he was lost in thought. After a few moments, his black gaze had snapped open and was looking at her stare. For a reason unknown to him, the recipient of the gaze colored slightly before a scowl replaced it. He looked at her with slight uneasiness, as if he had just felt the same dream she had, but from his point of view. "What did you do to me?" He finally shot back at her with a glare.

Letting out a air load of frustration, she threw up her hands and met his glare. "I didn't do anything!" He snorted dryly and resumed his normal stance. "And-" She noticed her surroundings were alien to her. The light oak wood guarded the two from the cold chilling breeze of snow. The room was sparsely decorated, only a bed, lamp, and a dresser stood tall and proud amongst the emptiness. "Great." A silent smack filled the warm air of the house as the rosy haired girl in front of him growled in annoyance. "The snow! I've been asleep that long?" Sasuke didn't even need to answer her as she threw up her arms and glared at the ceiling as if it was going to make all her problems go away. He narrowed his eyes at her; as if she had any problems to deal with. She rubbed a hand over her face and wrung her hands together. His glare became more venom-filled as he remembered she had done the same action in his dream. Her gaze was too engrossed in the ceiling to notice the murderous looks coming her way. "I'll take that as a yes." The female sighed through her nose and hit the bed with her fist.

"I would appreciate it if you wouldn't hit my possessions." Sasuke calmly said, but an angry undertone was hidden in his voice. Sakura scoffed and let out another growl. "Or make obscene noises. How annoying." Without waiting for her reply, the dark haired boy started to cross the room, and with a click of the door he was gone.

"Jerk." The offended girl susurrated to the empty air before her eyelids fluttered closed.

_His normal blank stared was filled with-emotion? "You're showing emotion." Sakura lazily whispered in his ear as they sat staring at the river. At his annoyed look, she giggled and softly patted his shoulder. "It's okay. I won't tell anyone." His scowl only deepened and this caused the amused girl to laugh again. "Don't look so down." _

_The scowl deepened more. "Why do you care?" He looked from her white teeth biting her lip to her dancing jade eyes and back again. Huffing in mock annoyance, the teen realized she was being more of a distraction than he needed right now. His only answer was silence broken by a small laugh. Sasuke laid back on the green grass, his arms still folded across his chest and his eyes shut. It almost looked like he was sleeping, but she knew better than that. "What?" He said, annoyance flashing in his eyes as he opened one eye to look from her lip to her eyes and back again. When he got nothing in return, Sasuke let out a breath of frustration and turned to his side to look away from the laughing Jounin._

"_You know why." She replied in a soft voice. His hand stopped in mid-task to run it through his dark hair. "You know why I care." Sakura laid back, her arms flailing out to the side and her rosy hair spewing everywhere. The male Jounin propped himself on his elbow, looking down at the soft gaze of the girl below him._

"_Yeah. I know." The wind carried his voice as she smiled softly at him, her eyelids lazily floating on top of her green eyes. _

Sasuke's head was throbbing as he grasped the couch for support. The image of the pink haired girl biting her lip came to his mind, but that only caused more colors to flash before his eyes. With a murmur of fatigue, the boy finally managed to push himself off the ground and stumble towards the girl's door. Without waiting for a decent reply to his hurried knock, he slammed open the door and stumbled into the room, still light-headed from the dream. It had happened the oddest way, too. He had been walking towards his own room when his body had gone limp and fell to the floor. "You!" Sasuke pointed to the girl who was holding her head in pain. "What did you do!"

"What did _I_ do?" She angrily yelled back, uncovering her face from her hands. "What did _I_ do?" The female repeated, her anger building up. "It wasn't until I poked you on the forehead that this started happening! What is wrong with you! Are you like, some kind of sorcerer or something that puts a spell to have weird dreams about the one that touched you and yourself to haunt the poor girl who actually was stupid enough to do it?" Her hands created animated motions as her voice slowly picked up speed. "And then you barge in here and tell me it's my fault? My fault! I don't know what you are, but you had better tell me right now or I'm going to just-" She let out an angry huff. "Just-" What could she really do to a famous billion dollar businessman? "Kick your ass!" That seemed about right. "God, you're an idiot!" She yelled, hopped off the bed, and in her furry poked his forehead again. Silence crept over the two as Sasuke slowly got a smug grin on his face. "What?" She asked angrily, crossing her arms in annoyance. "What are you giving me that grin for?" The smug grin only grew wider at her oblivious face. "Look, Mr. Whatever You Are, you had better tell me right now, or-" She stopped mid-sentence and did a double take on her actions… When her memory finally served her correctly, the young woman buried her face into her hands and pursed her lips. "I poked you again, didn't I?" Came her muffled question.

"Glad your brain works." Came the amused reply. Incoherent words spilled from her mouth as she shifted her weight from one foot to another.

"So," Sakura started and glanced up from her hands to give the male a scared glance, "Does this mean that I'm going to be cursed for the rest of my life?" She squeaked out and buried her face into her hands. "Stupid boy. Stupid-" She stopped again; what else could she call him when didn't even know _what_ exactly he was? "thing." Good enough. "Stupid brain for making me be put under a stupid curse. Stupid, stupid, stupid."

"You forgot stupid girl, but that's okay." The nervous girl twitched in anger. "Yeah. I gave you a curse to nullify your brain cells." He paused in mock thought as his gaze flicked towards Sakura. "But they weren't working anyways." Sasuke shrugged casually, making the female bristle, just like he had wanted her to.

* * *

A/N: And chapter two is up! You guys like, you guys dislike? **BY THE WAY! AND YES, YOU SCROLLING DOWN, READ THIS**! Do you guys have any suggestions for the summary? Because I've been trying to come up with a good one, but alas, it 'tis a difficult deed indeed. Until next chapter! (Which will probably be up soon since it is already typed, but it depends on my reviewers how fast I post...)

This story will be Sasuke/Sakura, and I'm sorry if that disappoints some of you. :(

Thank you to my lovely reviewers:

-neu chi no nai u

-Fiona McKinnon

-amylovestakuya

-pookie-poo


	3. Tomatoes

**Chapter Three**: _Tomatoes_

"Give it to me, baby! Uh huh, uh huh! And all the girlies say I'm pretty fly for a white guy!" Sasuke watched as the rosy haired girl sung and danced to the song, a big grin splitting her earlier frown. "Now he's getting a tattoo, yeah; he's getting ink done." Her hair flipped across her face as she spun around happily. "He asked for a 13, but they drew a 31!" The slippery wooden floor didn't provide any traction, and the dancing beauty went down, laughing at her antics. Still on the floor, Sakura sighed and closed her eyes, the first moment of peace coming to her since she had arrived at Sasuke's house.

His shoulder started to become numb from leaning on the doorway as he watched the girl get up with another laugh and cross to the fridge. She had still not noticed his presence despite the music starting to quiet down. The tune of the song still played in her mind and she hummed along to it as the fridge door swung open and revealed…tomatoes. Tomatoes were everywhere: in the drawers, lined up along the shelves, even in packages freely. "Does he have a tomato fetish or something?" Sakura murmured as she opened the freezer. Ice cream sat in her line of vision, but a laugh escaped her throat as she noticed frozen tomatoes. "I guess he does." She said, grinning like she had just discovered a very personal secret of the owner.

Making a quick decision, Sakura decided to have some tomatoes and rice. Actually, that was really all that was in the over dominantly tomato filled fridge. Some rice was already made up in the refrigerator, and she quickly snatched it up to complete her meal. The oblivious girl cut up the tomatoes, still humming and a grin still on her face. "And presto!" It felt like she had just done something extraordinary and mysterious. "All done." She turned around with the plate in her hand and almost dropped it. "Sasuke!" Her grin disappeared as the sight of the raven haired boy sunk in. Black flicked from the rice and tomatoes, and then flicked back to the girl with a slight eyebrow raised. "Well-um-" Sakura stammered, not really thinking about the consequences of raiding her host's fridge. "You see-" A lame shrug ended her broken sentences as she crossed to the table and sat down brazenly. Surprisingly, the accuser joined her.

"I like tomatoes, so I have a tomato fetish, yes." Arbitrary words to Sakura spilled out of his mouth as bright green stared at him in awe. "What?" He asked, an uncomfortable twitch forming in his right eye. She didn't remove her stare; neither did she remove the awe that mysteriously supplanted the slight discomfort at hearing him talk. "For God's sake, speak." Sasuke murmured and plopped a juicy, ripe red tomato into his mouth and started to chew. Disappointed that the ecstasy ended so quickly, the raven haired boy plopped another tomato into his mouth.

"You…" Sakura trailed for lack of any other words to describe her fascination with the boy's tomato fetish. "…really like tomatoes." A lame finish, but still, a finish. His Adam's apple contracted from the esophagus in his throat performing peristalsis as he swallowed another whole tomato. Her eyes darted from the boy to the tomatoes, once again a sparkle of awe and confusion swirled into green. The green finally landed on the already diminishing stash of crimson food. "Hey! I'm not going to get any!" Even as she struggled to complete her sentence, the tomato fiend moved in for the last kill of the meal. He swirled the juicy-filled tomato between his fingers, idly wondering if he ate this, would he combust because of so many tomatoes? "Give that back!" Skim milk phalanges plucked the fruit out of his slackened hold, causing a chain reaction of scowls given to the girl currently chewing happily on the food. "Ah! Good old tomatoes." She purred and sighed happily, giggling at herself from the lucid fact that she had gotten the last tomato.

The deprived tomato friend's eye twitched again at seeing her grinning mouth that had devoured his precious tomato. "You ate my last tomato." Sasuke said calmly, but for the trained ear a slight bitter, sardonic tone could ring through their brains. "My last tomato…" He muttered unbelievingly at the now mischievous glint in the puddles of green water.

"In all truth," Began the girl who had committed the act of larceny, "it wasn't your last tomato. See?" She pointed happily to the fridge standing against the wall in all its tomato-filled glory. "You still have plenty of tomatoes in there, so make yourself some if you really want them." Without any form of adieu, Sakura started humming and swinging her arms softly to the beat as she paraded out of the kitchen, coal black staring with venom at the flexing muscles in her back.

"You're going to make me prepare my own tomatoes!" The Uchiha yelled out to her irritably. Without waiting for a reply, the grumbling boy stood up and waded up to the tall steel fridge with slight tomato stains on it from his fingers grasping the handle bars after cutting the precious food. A superfluous amount of red caught his eye the minute the chilled air of the refrigerator hit his skin. His sanctuary away from all those ugly, green vegetables that his mother had once made him eat, saying that if he ate too many tomatoes, he would surely combust into tiny, little tomatoes. Being a five-year-old and hearing his mother say that he could be tomatoes was the coolest thing in his world. To think, little, child-like Sasuke had actually disobeyed his mother and had started to eat tomatoes non-stop, sometimes eating rice as a special treat to him along the way. Soon after a month's worth of supply was gone in a day, the gastric acid in his stomach obviously couldn't take anymore of the red fruit, resulting in making weird noises and odd feelings. With an excitement in his veins, Sasuke had waited patiently for the combustion of his human self to have little Sasuke tomatoes rolling about on the ground. When he had turned a light shade of green, and the surplus of tomatoes made its way back up to the boy's throat, the dark haired child had been hugely disappointed. After all, little Sasuke tomatoes would be such a cool thing to be.

"Oi, woman." He yelled out to the struggling pink haired girl who was currently trying to wrestle down the door somehow to return home. "The snow is caved in, idiot. You're not going to get through." Sasuke had said it plain and clear, and yet his ever bland and true remarks didn't make a connection through the obtuse girl's brain. Sighing, a snort also somehow made itself known out of the boy's mouth, onyx watched the distressed, slightly hysterical girl like it was time for his favorite show, and Sakura had just ruined a huge part of it by saying something loudly. "Weak girl." The insulted female immediately stopped the tugging, pulling, and scratching that she had been doing to the now pitifully marked wooden door to give the insulter an angry glance before yelling that she just wanted to get out of the house. "Obviously, that isn't getting us anywhere." At the mention of the word us, the utterly obtuse, simple-minded girl just gave a confused look to him. "I want you out of here, too." He explained as if it was the most plainly seen subject in the world, a slight reprimand hitting the pink haired girl none too softly. Slightly opaque eyes stared at her with disinterest, before rolling behind eyelids and returning to the now fiercely determined captive. "You can't get out. There is no possible way." He calmly tried to make a connection to Sakura, but it seemed as if her nerve cells were farther apart than the length of his house.

"I'll make it work." The girl hissed furiously, going back to clawing, tearing, and screaming at the stubborn door to just open up and let her out. Salty sweat rolled down her face in drops, rolling down to her chin and making themselves known with a slight drip on the ground and a water stain melding into the wood. "God damn, just open up!" Sakura screamed wildly at the door, pounding on the retched thing so hard that the pictures on the wall gave a jump each time her fist made contact. Lactic acid causing exhaustion finally entered her weakened arms, her back colliding with the door in one last attempt to open it or break it down. Her head came to lie upon the object of her exhaustion, eyes closed, hands in pitiful messes at her sides. "This isn't funny." She muttered although she couldn't see the blank eyes of the black haired boy in front of her. "Isn't funny at all."

The emotionless lips curled up at the ends, a sign that he was highly amused by this one minded girl. "In my opinion, it's quite hilarious." His arms still crossed, his expression still laden with indifference, Sasuke met the heated glare that was mercilessly thrown his way. She started to mutter random, absurd things that didn't catch his highly attentive ears. "So annoying." He came to stand on the same wall as she, propping his leg in a 90-degree angle with his eyes closed in concentration. "You're annoying." The blunt remark was repeated to the sweaty recipient, only causing the sharp pain in her temple flare to beyond anything annoying.

"Listen, you despicable, mean, cruel, sardonic, calm piece of male specimen," The tried voice rang out through the gap between them, only making the air seem tight and constricted as Sasuke's temper slightly flared, although his face still remained in a calm stance. "you are annoying because you don't _talk_." She retorted swinging her head lazily to his tight position on the wall. "And I'm annoying because I talk too much. There." She spread her arms out to the whole room. "We're even."

"I don't think so." Recently opened onyx eyes studied the girl with veiled interest. "You ate my tomatoes." The sentence was growled out of his teeth and meant to be a threat, but the overly-happy girl leaning against the door giggled, her shoulders shaking from trying to keep the incessant laughs in. "It's really not amusing." He said with an unreserved spite in his voice from losing his beloved food that was wasted in the female's stomach.

"Wait." Sakura's hand stopped midway to muffle an annoying giggle as she shuffled her knees across the floor and slowly rose up to the desk's height. The object under her scrutiny swung between her fingers as she pinched the edge and held it up for Sasuke to see. "You have a diary?" Her tone was disbelief, her mouth slightly agape.

He crossed his arms in a defensive way, leering at the snoop who had found the pages. "It's not a diary." He retorted in a sneer.

"Oh, really?" She said casually, flipping open the leather cover with a grinning face. "My clan-"

"Stop!" Before Sakura could read further, the book was viciously torn out of her hands, a furious looking Uchiha taking her sight instead. "This is none of your business." He hissed at her, pointing an accusing finger right between her eyes. With his normally cool and detached onyx eyes flaring, Sasuke pulled steadily away from her and slammed the door on the way out.

The shocked girl sat there, her back still leaning towards the bed, her hands still frozen in the form of a book.

"So hungry…" Sakura muttered to herself as the mysterious book had disappeared along with its owner. "Why did he have to lock me in here? It's not like I committed a terrible sin." Sighing with boredom, jade eyes scanned the minimally clad room to find something to occupy her interest. She still saw nothing, only the protruding desk that seemed overly large for the room. Well, the boy was obviously wealthy from the face that he had a fur rug sitting right in front of her toes. A long pale phalange poked the silky fur, and a soft sigh of satisfaction escaped the girl. Her knees scraping the floor, she let her hands glide through the brown tresses, softly humming in pure joy. It was funny how such a thing could be so comforting in a time of boredom. She laid down on the soft pelt, her hands still running of the silky texture.

"Are you trying to seduce my rug?" Came a dull voice over her bliss. "Or should I just stand back and watch you attempt to make love to the dead bear?" Sasuke's voice was terse, cutting what remained of her pleasure off. She warily looked up at the boy, expecting another outburst of angry emotions, but found his eyes were as blank as they had been when she first met him. Her mouth mumbled an apology at attempting to seduce his bear, her body becoming rigid as she sat up and studied the tray in his hands. "I heard you whining for food, so I brought you some." He set down the clinking metal tray that was filled with oatmeal and a bagel. "It was all I had." A glare came upon the grinning girl. "My tomatoes are demolished."

"Yes, well," Sakura beamed at his grumpy expression, "at least this way you will maybe go out and buy some other food besides tomatoes!" Her finger waggled in his face as his scowling eyes followed the rapidly moving finger back and forth. "You're going to get malnourished if you just keep eating tomatoes and rice! You need some protein! Some carbohydrates!" She pumped her fist in the air while calling out the nutrients' names, then abruptly stopped and gave the boy a hopeful look that he would expand his eating habits.

"I eat unagi, too." He said with a defensive undertone in his placid voice. "Oatmeal and bagels on occasions, also. The unagi is my protein, and I stand by that statement with utmost confidence." His black laden arms came to cross each other; his eyes swarming over the dry bagel with hunger, and the crunchy oatmeal with even more zeal. Realizing he was staring at the food as if he were a starving beggar, Sasuke flicked his eyes to the woman in front of him; coming to land upon her sly smile with unease. "What?" He snapped, his teeth grinding together in his mouth at her infuriating posture. Her back was slumped as her hands came to rest on either side of her jaw; her lips turned slightly upwards in amusement at his actions. "Sit up straight." He commanded in a practiced tone that he had used on the various maids when they had come scampering to fetch him some item or another. "And don't look at me like that."

"Like what?" Sakura asked innocently, making the male bristle, just like she had wanted him to.

* * *

A/N: The more reviews I get, the faster I update... But that's like begging for reviews... I really do want to know your opinions on this thing. Good? Bad? Just plain ugly? Tell me! And on a further note of reviews, thank you dearly to the people that did last chapter! 

-Lone Sakura: The chapter was meant to confuse you on the dreams, but you will find out soon enough what they were. And at the end, Sakura goes rambling on about how it's Sasuke's fault that she has these dreams ever since she poked him in the forehead. And when she does it again, she gets scared that she will be cursed, put under some kind of spell (yeah, I know...), ect. So she goes rambling off again about how stupid everything is, and that is when Sasuke taunts her. Hope that cleared the ending and dreams up for you.

-Sya0ran

-els1321

-neu chi no nai u


	4. Philosophies

**Chapter Four:** _Philosophies_

"We are still stuck in this house, aren't we?" Sakura mumbled as she lazily sat up and sauntered over to the snow covered window. "I mean-really stuck, huh?" Her arms closed protectively over her chilled body.

"Obviously." Sasuke retorted dryly. "I would have kicked you out for demolishing my tomatoes and vandalizing my other food." He let out a huff of annoyance as his arms interlaced, his back coming to lean against the creamy wall.

"I did not _vandalize _your food." The pink haired girl held up her hand to defend herself against the onslaught of verbal abuse. "I do admit that I demolished it, though." She shrugged precariously. "You have a good choice in tomatoes." An impatient sigh passed through her lips as her eyes darted to the side to examine the still boy. Honestly-couldn't the man just move about a bit? He just stood there, his right leg in a ninety degree angle and his arms crossed with his breathing rhythmic. An impulsive question came to her lips, "How do you stand so still?" Sakura crossed the room, poking out her lower lip in concentration as she tried to imitate the stock-still boy. Her leg fumbled to get in the precise angle while her arms clumsily clashed together tightly. She examined herself thoughtfully and decided she looked nothing like his signature stance.

He let out a snort and came out of his reclining position. "You, Sakura, are undoubtedly weird."

"Hey!" She stuck out a finger towards him. "Being weird is good! It means you give the world a little diversity."

"Diversity?" He repeated and rolled his dark eyes. "All men are corrupt, waiting for the next pay check so they can buy that new house and live with their whores in their billion dollar houses."

"But-not all men are rich." She gave him an inquisitive glance at his philosophy. "So not all men are corrupt."

"Don't tell me that shit. Money makes the world spin."

"True-" Sakura agreed nobly. "money does make the world function. But I believe that somewhere-out of the 6.1 billion people we have-there is a man that will say no to money over values."

"Women sell their bodies for money." He gave a side glance to the woman beside him. "And priests claim they will use the money wisely that you give them at church while they sell it on booze and crack the minute you turn your back."

Her head tilted to the side. "You have a very negative opinion on the world, Sasuke."

"I tell it like it is."

She smiled at him wistfully, happy that she actually got something out of him than his normal brooding mood. "So does that mean you're corrupt? If all men are corrupt, and your part of the male population, would you sell your soul for that little bit of money to come your way? Or would you break your own philosophy and turn it away?"

Sasuke stood silent for a few moments, his thoughts gathering until he had a formulated opinion in his mind. "I believe-" He chose his words carefully. "-that I would take the money, if it were given to me freely. And the chances of that happening are slim."

"Yes." She agreed with him once more, her shining eyes finally finding his as she studied his acutance of the situation. "So-do you believe I am corrupt, then?" Turning around in a circle with her arms spread out, a curious stare fixated upon him when she finished. "Do I fit the part?"

As his onyx eyes traveled over her form, confusing thoughts kept blurting out randomly in his mind. _She's beautiful._ His lips pursed tightly as he forced his eyes to remain on her emerald gaze. "I don't know you, but I believe you would do anything for money."

The green gaze momentarily flicked towards the wooden floorboards before coming back towards him full of curiosity. "How so?" She inquired lightly.

"For one, your clothes." He stated as if it was painfully obvious. "Two, your pink hair. Three, your looks."

Instead of the haughty and spiteful gaze he had expected, Sakura's eyes held humor and amusement in them. "Explain all three. First, clothes."

He rolled his eyes at her oblivious nature. "They're horrible. And the outfit you wore in the flower shop wasn't helping you, either."

Her eyes flared up before sizzling down as a forced smile took to her face. "My hair?"

"It's pink. The color is not natural, so you must die it." He lightly scrunched up his nose at the girl before him. "And your roots are pink, have been for the last few days. Obviously you must die it frequently."

"Alright." She tightly replied, her hands griping the hem of her shirt tightly. "My looks?"

At this question, Sasuke hesitated slightly, but it didn't go unnoticed to the woman. "You have the looks like you want money. You're beautiful, and the looks could be used to your advantage. Close to a whore, but not quite."

The statement of "you're beautiful" went soaring through her brain without making a connection. "Close to a whore?" Her fury gave a slight edge to the words. "So you believe that I would sell my body for money?"

His eyes gave her a glance over, and then nestled deep into the emerald orbs. "No. I said close to a whore."

She took a few steps towards the calm male, her eyes blazing and her fist still in a tight ball on the hem of her shirt. "So I sleep with men to get their money, then dump them?"

"You fit the type."

Her teeth were gnashing and grinding against one another. "You, Sasuke Uchiha, are prejudiced to the point of being unbearable." She tried to get her temper to simmer to a boil. "Would you like to hear my opinion of you?"

His eyes regarded her own fury-filled ones lazily. "I don't really care what you think." With a slight drawl to each step, he arrived at the door to her room and turned back towards her, still seeing the furious image of a pink haired girl standing with her fist clenched and her jaw tight. "Goodnight, Haruno." A click of the door signaled his departure.

* * *

"_S-Sasuke," Her voice rang clearly over the other Genin's ears. "Maybe you should quit, too!" Her gaze nervously landed on the boy of her affections._

_The dark haired boy gave a shocked look to the girl as their teammate stared at them both, a look of perplexity coming to find his face. "Hunh!" Naruto exclaimed to get her attention, but the pink haired Genin did not acknowledge._

_With her voice trembling, she went on, "Ever since that Orochimaru attacked you, you haven't been yourself!" Her tone softened. "That mark on your skin is hurting again, isn't it?" Her eyes filled up with salty liquid threatening to pour down her pale cheeks._

I left him with a parting gift… _The words echoed through her already muddled mind._ Eventually Sasuke will be forced to seek me out…in the quest for power._ Sakura's heart wrung tighter at the thought of losing him to Orochimaru. She wouldn't let it happen; she wouldn't just stand by and let Sasuke ruin his whole life over a stupid Chunin exam!_

"_Please…" She whispered, her hands coming to clasp around her collarbone, her head slightly bowed and her lip still punctured by her teeth. _

_With a hand still on his throbbing curse, he looked at the girl before him as if she was a new sight, fresh and doleful to take in._

"_Please withdraw…" She whispered painfully to her teammate. "I-I'm afraid…" The tears that were burning the flesh in her eyes broke the dam that was holding them back, leaving wet, salty trails to be visible. The pink haired ninja vaguely heard Naruto mutter something before her head snapped determinedly to Sasuke. "You're in no shape to fight, Sasuke!" She yelled out over the stunned onlookers._

"_Shut up!" The boy viciously whispered, fully aware of the other Genin._

_She looked at him with the trails still on her face. "Sasuke, I know…" The voice faded off before coming back again, full force, "that you've barely been able to contain the pain all this time!"_

"_I said-" He growled out, his frown darkening._

"_You leave me no choice. If you won't listen to reason…" Her eyebrows furrowed at the slightly slouched boy. "I'm going to tell all the teachers about that mark! And then…"_

_Before she could go on anymore, a desperate state of hysteria grasped her as she went to move towards him, but the latter's wrists swung forward to grasp hers before she could move any further. Her jade eyes opened wide at the contact he was initiating._

"_Keep your mouth shut! Not a word about the mark!" He muttered dangerously to her with narrowed eyes._

_A sob escaped her lips pitifully, "Why do you always have to act so strong! I can't bear to watch you suffer, Sasuke!" She yelled out to him, desperate to do anything to keep him from participating in the exams._

"_It's my decision…" His eyes seared into her wet ones. "And it's none of your business!" He rebuked._

_She slightly jerked away from him, but her wrist was still in his tightening grasp. _

"_This is my burden to bear alone…" Sasuke muttered to the doleful girl as her eyes widened. "Remember what I told you, Sakura?" A burning glance was sent her way. "I'm an avenger. This is more than just a test for me…" His statement didn't catch her off guard. "And I don't care whether I achieve the level of Chunin or not." _

_She was left speechless at his sudden words, slightly trembling from the adrenaline rush she had experienced. _

"_Am I strong? Finding that out is all that matters to me now." A sharp needle pierced her emotional stronghold. All that mattered was revenge… All that mattered was Itachi. "I'm here to test myself against the best of the best." The best of the best…All he wanted was murder, bloodshed. "And the best opponents I could find are all around us, here and now." The opponents that he wanted to kill? No. They were outside the boundaries, waiting and watching for the one day he would join them. "Not even for your sake will I turn away from the path that leads to my dream!" His dream? Of crimson and clans? _

Sakura woke up crying, a heart wrenching feeling tugging deep inside her chest. Rejection. She didn't want anymore dreams of him; she didn't want to see him haunt her eyesight even in the daylight. She wished…she wished she had never met an Uchiha Sasuke. Her body broke in erratic paces, a slight sob escaping her lips as the feeling wouldn't go away. She pulled the covers over her head, pushing her bloodshot eyes closed so tightly that crow's feet were settled next to her eyes.

She didn't want to think of him anymore. A vision of the black haired boy came to her mind in a searing flash while Sakura rolled on her side and clenched at the skin just below her collarbone. She just wanted to sleep… Uncomfortable with her new position, she turned on her other side as a flash of him holding her wrist came bright and fresh to her mind. "Stop it!" She screamed and slammed her fist down into the warm comforter of the bed. Another defiant image seared into her brain, this time it was of the Uchiha slightly smiling. "Stop!" She screeched out of the empty room, her eyes painfully throbbing. The image faded away slightly, the slideshow finally over. The same salty, wet trails that had appeared on Sakura's face in her dream were now skillfully gliding towards the white sheets of the bed. A sob broke the already shattered silence before the pink haired girl curled into a ball and willed herself to sleep.

* * *

He sauntered through the kitchen, taking a sip of his coffee before setting it down and heading to his tomato-or what was left of them-laden fridge. With an audible grunt, he tugged open the refrigerator door and the welcome sight of red filled his vision. _I'm afraid…_ A dark frown tugged down on his lips as he slammed the slightly chilled door shut unmercifully. He had been so straightforward with his feelings in that dream, and he honestly didn't know if he would ever again be able to summon up the courage-or interest-to tell of his innermost thoughts.

True, he thought as he scuffled out of the kitchen (tomato in hand), looking at the image of an exhausted rosy haired girl through the slight opening in her doorway; he had been sucked into telling that Sakura girl his philosophy on men and money, and yet she had not scoffed at his ideas or ridiculed him for thinking so deep. She had actually welcomed his ideas as if they were her own, but mingled and shaped them into a question to fire right back at him. The florist shop worker was intelligent, he gave her that.

The girl in his line of vision stirred and mumbled something inaudible to normal ears. Then, without warning, a flash of Sakura looking desperately at him came into view. With a jolt, the male stepped away from the doorway, only to have another image of her grinning and spinning around happily dig itself into his brain. What was happening? Was it because of that _girl_? The one that seemed to be in every single corner of his dreams?

He gave a defiant huff to the image before successfully wiping it out for good. The door to Sakura's room swung open as the irritated boy sauntered in and looked silently at the sleeping girl. "Oi, Sakura." He said loudly, but his only response was a slight moan of laziness and to watch her form turn away from him. The coffee cups handle looked about ready to crack as his hand tightened painfully about its creamy coat. "Listen, girl: if you don't get out of bed, then I will do something drastic." That should have been enough to have her crawling on her knees to him with horror-filled eyes. Sakura idly dropped her hand across her eyes and buried deep into the pillows. "Drastic it is then." He muttered to himself.

Pivoting on his right foot, the male darted to the kitchen and grabbed as many tomatoes as his hands could hold. The placid look still on his face (although a sinister sneer had wormed its way in there), he returned to the room and with a huge swing, landed the tomato straight on the pink haired girl's face. She screamed and sat up straight, her back like a board being nailed down. "What the hell!" The irate voice seemed more irritated than he was, but that was a long-shot anyways. "You." She pointed at him with a menacing finger. "Look, you addictive-compulsive tomato eater: you do that again, and I'll-" A splat resounded through the barren room as fresh tomato juice rolled down Sakura's face in seeds and drops. "You're dead, Sasuke." She hissed before winging the covers back and storming towards him. A tomato hit her forehead dead-on before she was able to reach her retreating target. "This is so gross." She muttered as the new tomato's peel slipped off her nose. "How do you have such good aim, asshole?"

"It's actually quite easy to hit a large forehead. All you have to do is-" The male didn't get to finish his sentence as Sakura charged for him again with a battle cry. Actually, that battle cry wasn't too fond of the ears; Sasuke winced as he was tackled into the wall, the air coming out of his lungs in a rapid motion.

She was pressed tightly against him, her hand coming up to snatch a tomato from his crimson filled hands and lift it up to attack the obsessive tomato eater. Suddenly, a thought came to her, "Why would you waste your precious tomatoes to wake me up?" With the tomato still above his head, he regarded her inquisitive eyes and lack of concentration amusedly.

"I said drastic measures; didn't I?"

The comely girl frowned slightly at his proclamation, only to lose her grip on the hovering tomato. The seeds rolled equally down the face of Sasuke as they had done with Sakura. A slight giggle formed on her lips before she pursed them tightly and let out a polite smile. "Well, drastic measures always do backfire, ne?"

Getting slightly afraid when he didn't blink or break eye contact with her, she laughed nervously as her body released his and stepped quietly away. "Well, goodbye!" She hurriedly let out before giving a squeak of fright as he suddenly lunged out for her, barely missing her shirt by an inch. "Now, Sasuke!" She chided, "You shouldn't attempt to hurt a lady of my social standing." Another squeak filled the room as she dodged him again. "It really isn't-" He lunged for her again, but this time caught her by the wrist. "-nice." She finished weakly as she was thrown forcefully towards the bed, blazing onyx coming to hover above her with a nice, juicy tomato with them. "Um, did you know how nice your eyes are?" He drew in a forced breath through his flaring nostrils. "And that nose! So perfect that I could just kiss it!" Acting on her words and instinct, Sakura quickly lifted up and pecked him on the nose.

The tomato was still laying dejectedly in the dark haired boy's hand as he looked at her in shock. "Did you-" He tried, but failed immensely. "Did you just kiss me on the nose?"

Her eyes darted about and her teeth came down upon her lip, "Err-no?" She squeaked out with a nervous laugh. "I mean honestly-your nose was just so kissable!" Fumbling along with her words, she tried again, "I mean it isn't! Well, actually, when I do look at it from this angle it kind of does look all nice. Not saying that you have a nice nose or anything. I mean honestly-who would want a nice nose? It is so-"

"Shut up." He rolled his eyes and smashed the tomato in her face with a triumphant grin etched into his mouth. "I suggest you take a shower and wash your bed sheets." He idly got off of her gaping form, his feet clunking against the wooden floor as he fished for the handle to the door. "I won't do it for you, and you do reek of tomatoes."

* * *

A/N: Oh well that I didn't get five reviews. I have decided that I'm doing this story for the sake of it not popping into my head anymore! shrugs 

A big thank you to:

-Sya0ran: A faithful reviewer! Honestly, I always look forward to your reviews and opinions on the chapters! Thank you so much for sticking by my story and reading my extremely long paragraphs! (I'm trying to get better at that.)

-neu chi no nai u: Ah, another faithful reviewers! I also look forward to your reviews. Thank you immensely for actually reviewing and reading my story. O.O

-Readsinsilence: The dreams will be revealed, but in due time. You are free to make as many predictions as you would like, though. Seeing a lot of hints were in this chapter, you will probably be able to figure it out.

Until next time...


	5. Departure

**A/N:** Wow, I am alive! Sorry I couldn't get this out sooner, but I really don't have an excuse. >.>

**Disclaimer:** This is my plot, not my characters. They belong to Naruto. So on and so forth.

* * *

Sakura was going home. 

It was about time, too. When she had heard about Ino's heartbreak, Sakura had, as usual, rushed into the mix and had not brought any clothes or anything along with her. Her clothes were starting to give off a less than pleasant smell, but she had managed to persuade Sasuke to at least let her take a shower. In the past few days, he had been avoiding her like she was an overgrown deadly bacterium with pink hair. It would not be surprising at all if Sasuke probably thought she was. But that didn't mean it had to ruin her good mood. After all, going home was supposed to make her happy and joyful without the thought of Sasuke, and indeed it did.

She gave an elated grin and tapped her foot nervously. The snow had cleared up for the most part, leaving the door a bit jammed but nothing the pink haired woman couldn't handle. Taking a deep, invigorating breath through her nose, Sakura idly realized that she had spent some whole three days in the presence of the Uchiha, and that alone made her squirm uneasily. They had not talked much since the tomato incident, although Sakura wasn't sure she would even want to attempt to make contact with the enigma that was Sasuke. Sure, she was having odd dreams about him, but did she really want to put herself in danger of getting a fierce glare if a silent question would be muttered? Dejectedly, she sighed and pulled her coat tighter. Not really.

Now, the only thing left to do was huddle up and make a dash for her car. Sakura, never one for cold temperatures, was itching to get out of this ice box. Sasuke's personality didn't help the frigid temperatures, either. Truthfully, she believed that his house was colder inside than out. That could all be summed up to the fact that the outside didn't contain a male named Uchiha Sasuke.

"Alright, I'm going home!" She happily whispered to no one in particular. "Home, home, happity home."

Somehow, she wasn't overly excited as she thought herself to be.

With another tug on her coat, Sakura belatedly realized that she should probably go seek Sasuke out and thank him for all that he had done (which basically all he did was let her have a spare room that wasn't being used anyway). Still, she was a girl of customs, and thanking the host was a definite must. So, with a grumbling mouth, the pink haired young woman set out to find her Uchiha host. The house wasn't that big, so it wouldn't be so hard to find him, right?

Apparently she was wrong.

She had looked in the kitchen. She had looked (briefly) in his bedroom. She had even gone so far as to walk into the little dining room that he kept for special occasions. But had she seen one black hair of his head? "Damn Uchiha and stupid traditions." Her nose was getting clogged from spending too much time in the freezing temperatures. "They can burn in hell." With her mind made up and a resolution sought, Sakura nodded and trekked back towards the front door.

The dark metal knob came into view, and she silently sent out a prayer to a random god that her car would actually work. Pausing with her hand in midair, Sakura frowned and contemplated that little set back. Car not working? No escape from the ice box. Her frown deepened. A male usually had some good old mechanical ability, ne? All the males that she had come into contact with had been able to dish out some kind of pointers about cars. But, then again, those males hadn't been Sasuke.

Either she would seek out the Uchiha and force him to come with her just in case her car decided it wasn't cooperating with her, or go out to the car and coax the automobile that she was indeed its friend and came in peace. The decision was obvious: she chose the latter.

"Come on, baby," Sakura whispered as she stroked the steering wheel with what she would classify as pure love. "Start for your mama." Again, she assured it that she came in peace, but it seemed that the chunk of metal had already declared her an enemy of the state.

Not really wanting to concede to do her first plan, the young woman got out of the car and scuffled towards the front of her Toyota. She lifted the hood and pathetically stared down at its metal engine. Should she poke it and see if it suddenly worked? With closed eyes, Sakura hurriedly poked it and retrieved her hand back as if it had touched boiling water. No results. Again, the first plan came to mind. And again, she pushed it back with a sniff of stubbornness.

Evidently this was not working.

A feeling of frustration grew within her. She should be more than capable of doing this! It was not brain surgery, although when Sakura looked at the engine (with a hint of distaste one might add), all the wires and various tubes did make it seem so. "Why won't you start?" She muttered and hugged herself. Her weight switched from one foot to the other. It was times like these that the young woman wished she somehow had magical powers to fix this baby up. That…or a crowbar to destroy it.

She gave a glance back towards the house and honestly started to come to a conclusion that she should probably seek help. But the chances of her actually finding the Uchiha spun more towards the slim slid of the calibrator, and she just wasn't up for a goose chase right now. Her gaze swung back towards the open hood of the car, and then turned back towards the house. A goose chase it was.

Sakura found him staring out a window in the kitchen, his dark eyes stoic and calculating. With a noise from her throat, she brought his calculating look towards her. But not two seconds had gone by when she lost it again. Deflated and tired, the pink haired young woman was in no mood for his silence today. "Listen, Sasuke, I need some help."

He silently looked at her again and didn't answer.

"My car," she seemed to struggle with her words, "my car isn't cooperating with me, and I thought that males usually are good at those kinds of things…" She trailed and hoped that he would pick up. He didn't. "You know, come out and maybe give me a hand? I would say thank you. A big, joyous thank you if you want." His eyes turned back towards the window. "Alright, so maybe I won't? I'll be quiet the whole time and not say anything." Surprised, Sasuke turned back to the young woman. The latter grinned good-naturedly. Hook, line and sinker.

"The whole time." He deadpanned, giving her a stoic look.

She held up her hand. "With my entire honor at stake, I decree that I will be silent as Sasuke works on my car."

Just seeing her quiet would be a feat in itself, one that he planned on witnessing. Although there was a flaw in his plan. "I don't know anything about cars."

Her mouth dropped open. A male not knowing a thing about cars? Silently, Sakura questioned his sexuality. He didn't make any advances on her the whole time she had been there, and that was quite surprising. He _was_ male (at least she thought), and usually when a female comes within a few meters of said male they start to drool. Well, the ones she had met lately anyway. It was strange that Sasuke would avoid her at all costs. Maybe he was gay… "Nothing? Absolutely nothing?"

Maybe he was being humble, like all those times Hinata would mumble that she didn't know a thing about physics, and then had belted out her fifty question assignment in thirty minutes.

"Nothing." He repeated blankly.

Her hopes crashed. "Well, maybe you could take a look at it?" If he tried, Sasuke might just get the hang of it and fix the problem.

He turned away. "No."

Sakura pouted.

Sasuke sighed.

Sakura whined.

Sasuke frowned.

"No."

She pathetically turned away, her shoulders slouching. "Fine. I'll just go outside and fix it. Alone. And cold." When she didn't get a reply, she straightened and sighed. "All by myself… Don't want to be, all by myself…" She sang as she drifted back out into the snow.

And there she was, Haruno Sakura trying to fix a machine in the bitter cold that had doomed her to the depths of hell. Sighing dolefully became her new pastime. "Come on you hunk of cheap metal! Work with me here!" It seemed determined not to work with her at all. In truth, it seemed like her Toyota just wanted to be mean and rude with her. The fact that she was giving the inanimate object feelings was beside the point. The point was the damn car was being horribly stubborn and uncooperative. Fleetingly, Sakura thought about abandoning the thing and walking back home just to spite it. Leaving it with Sasuke would be enough punishment for the Toyota.

Then, she thought of the drive to Sasuke's house and decided it wasn't worth it. She might either freeze to death or catch pneumonia and then die because she had no treatment. Both didn't sound like an all that appealing way to die, but it was better than staying with the Uchiha for a few more days.

In her state of deep depression, Sakura blocked out the sounds of a nearby, working car. She whined and moaned and whined some more, before finally turning around with her hands deep inside her pockets. So when the loud honk interrupted her thoughts of suicide, the pink haired woman was surprised indeed. "Sakura!" A hand protruded from the car's window, waving about frantically. "Hurry, get in!"

She narrowed her eyes at the ballistic hand, her grandma's words "Now, don't get in any stranger's cars!" coming back to haunt her. And this was definitely a stranger. Turning her eyes away, Sakura started back towards the house with an oblivious air about her.

Another honk stopped her. "It's me! Naruto!" Hearing her friend's name, the pink haired girl flung about and almost let out a cry of relief. Her rescuer had come to pick her up! Giving an angry glare to her stalled Toyota, Sakura quickly jogged to his car, opened the door, and flung herself inside the heated automobile, letting out a sigh of relaxation.

"You're a lifesaver, Naruto." She murmured, resting her head back onto the seat.

Naruto squirmed and slowly turned the car around. "Actually, Sasuke called me and left me a message saying to get you the hell out of there."

That wasn't surprising. "I'm glad you actually followed his advice."

"I didn't do it for you. I did it to preserve Sasuke's mentality."

She grinned tiredly. "Dobe."

"Believe it. Where to madam?" He asked as his Chevy pulled out of Sasuke's driveway.

"Somewhere far, far away from this place."

"Aww," He cooed, "not liking the presence of Sasuke lately?"

Shrugging, she returned, "Not really. He was mean and annoying because he didn't talk. As in, not at all. As in, complete silence. All he had to eat was tomatoes, which was revolting in itself, and he acted like I didn't exist." She sniffed angrily. "_And_ his house is freezing."

"Yeah." He nodded and grinned, tapping the steering wheel. A few silent moments passed. "Hey, Sakura…" His blonde eyebrows drew together, "…what are you going to do about your car?"

Momentary pause. "That thing can burn in automobile hell."

Naruto was smart enough not to press for details.

Sasuke watched his friend's ecstatic hand shaking to and fro, and he honestly felt a rush of relief. That pink haired distraction would be gone and out of his life forever, just the way he liked it. What he had been thinking when he had picked her up and carried her inside was beyond him. Haruno Sakura would be dead and gone to him, and he would be absolutely elated about it. The Uchiha watched them pull out of his driveway and let a smirk slip out from his usual blank face.

But when his eyes had traveled over the snowy landscape and met Sakura's abandoned Toyota, the grin was squashed by a frown. She left her car in the middle of his driveway, and he wasn't all that happy about it. Couldn't she have the decency to actually tow her car away from his property? He briefly thought about calling a tow truck. Well, that was one way to deal with it. Or he could just let it rot there and forever remind him of the past annoying three days with its owner. That didn't seem like such a good idea.

Pulling out his cell phone, Sasuke punched in the numbers and quickly brought it to his ear. "Hi, is Kuba there? Yeah, Kuba." A pause. "Hi, this is Sasuke. Yes. Will you pick up a Toyota from my house? Yeah. Today. What do you mean you can't?" He deadpanned. "The weather is fine. No, I want it done today. I will pay you double. Fine." And with that, he hung up, giving the small car a glimpse of his Uchiha glare. Sasuke would be damned if that thing stayed at his house for more than a day. Getting frustrated, he trudged out of the front door and towards the little Toyota with a mission. It would be leaving his driveway.

Although he knew nothing about cars (he had not been lying), whenever Sasuke put a mission in his mind, he would do anything to see it get done. He looked upon the old automobile with contempt. It was irritating him, plain and simple, and it needed to be eliminated soon. Through the cold, he stared at the Toyota, as if willing it to turn on with just the power of his glare.

It remained stubborn.

Who was good with cars? He racked his brain and found only one plausible person. Kakashi. Quickly pulling out his cell phone again, Sasuke dialed the number and impatiently waited.

"Hello?" Was Kakashi's drawl from the other end.

"Listen Kakashi, it's Sasuke."

"Sasuke?" A brief silence. "What can I do for you?"

"I have a car in the middle of my driveway that needs to be taken away. Do you think you could fix it up and tow it back to your garage?" He anxiously waited for Kakashi's answer, already ready to be out of the thing's presence.

Kakashi sighed. "What kind of car is it?"

"Toyota."

"With this weather?"

"Yes. Please Kakashi." It was a rare sight indeed when Sasuke said please to anyone.

"Alright. But I have to get my mom some groceries and then maybe unpack them, so it might take a while." Kakashi drawled.

"Whatever. Just come." And he hung up, not really asking how much it would cost. Because, honestly, he would pay anything just to have this junk of metal out of his line of sight.

Within the three hours that it took Kakashi to come (his excuse had been not finding bananas at the store), Sasuke was just about ready to beat the unsuspecting Toyota to bits with a crowbar. Actually, he had crowbar in hand when Kakashi pulled up. The latter still had that stupid bandana strewn across his face and left eye, which made Sasuke's anger flare up more although he knew he was being irrational.

"Fix it." He hissed, pointing to the stagnant vehicle.

Not one to argue with a furious Uchiha, Kakashi quickly fixed up the wretched thing and proclaimed he was done within an hour. Not that Sasuke was complaining. "I'll just…" Kakashi trailed, staring at the rabid fury of his client. "…get your money later." He tilted his head to an angle and sighed, not really waiting for Sasuke to answer before he hooked up the little Toyota to his car and strode away to his own vehicle.

Now that the demented thing had wriggled itself out of his life, Sasuke was starting to cool down and evaluate his anger. Truthfully, he did not know what had triggered his anger towards the inanimate object. Probably due to the fact that all he wanted to do was forget about Haruno Sakura.

* * *

**A/N: **Sorry if anyone was OOC, but I was a bit rusty. So, you like? Hate? Want to destroy it? Well, tell me in a review! I'll be sure to reply back to you if it is possible. Thank you for reading this drabble anyways!

A BIG, HUGE thank you to all of you who reviewed! You guys make me feel all fuzzy inside. XD


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